The U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management has released a Request for Information (RFI) under the Carbon Storage Assurance Facility Enterprise (CarbonSAFE) initiative, titled "A Mid-Course Evaluation" (DE-FOA-0003471). This RFI seeks input from stakeholders on the CarbonSAFE program, which was launched in 2016 to reduce technical risks and costs associated with commercial large-scale carbon storage projects. The initiative is part of the Carbon Transport and Storage (CTS) program, which aims to support the rapid deployment of carbon storage to decarbonize the U.S. economy.

The CarbonSAFE initiative is designed to address research and development gaps and develop technologies to enable the national deployment of commercial-scale CO2 storage. It also seeks to improve understanding of site selection, geologic characterization, and the permitting process. CarbonSAFE projects must be capable of storing at least 50 million metric tons of CO2 over 30 years.

This RFI is not a funding opportunity but rather a request for feedback to help improve the design and effectiveness of the program. Stakeholders, including project developers, researchers, regulators, community leaders, and environmental organizations, are invited to submit their perspectives by December 20, 2024. Responses must be submitted electronically and should not exceed 15 pages.

The Department of Energy will use the feedback from this RFI to shape future strategies for the CarbonSAFE initiative and may release future Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOAs) based on the input received. However, responding to this RFI does not guarantee participation in any future funding opportunities.